ativan?

[emergee]

any one have any feedback about ativan.  is it as bad as xanax?

[ladyofthemystnin]

Hello. I know that some time has passed, and hopefully you are doing much better now. Even so, I would like to respond to your question.

I have tried Ativan on many occasions, and it had no effect on me. Xanax, on the other hand, lowers my mood and has some serious cognitive side-effects plus a severe withdrawal that can be very frightening, but it helped me through a massive breakdown. For others, Ativan can be very effective since brain chemistry differs between people. Both can have serious withdrawals, but generally xanax can cause a greater level of impairment and more severe withdrawal (both can be very dangerous to go off of).  Always talk to a psychiatrist, but also research independently because doctors are not always fully-informed. I have found that online message boards like this can be very helpful because you can read first-hand accounts about the effects of withdrawal and personal stories about how it is experienced. This may help you to understand the differences between the drugs, and to make an informed decision.

In my personal experience, however, xanax worked wonders for my anxiety; so much that I have continued to take it for years, and am now terrified of going off it. it was the lesser of two evils at the time, but my prolonged use has caused severe cognitive impairments (memory, concentration, low-energy, lower mood, inability to learn new simple information at times, withdrawal between doses, etc). Now I wish that I had never been on any anti-anxiety drugs, but it was the only real option at the time. Know what you are getting into, and if at all possible stop taking the drug as soon as you can. NEVER do this without doctor supervision as the withdrawal can cause seizures, and other severe side-effects

[liscamdave]

I don't think it is as bad as xanax at all. I have taken xanax a few times. And when my husband died, the hospital gave me a script for xanax and I flushed them cause they made me more sad. Then my husbands cousin gave me one of her ativans and I felt nothing, but apparantly it was supposed to be like a xanax. But maybe I was too much in shock.

[TysonRed]

They are both very addictive along with every other benzodiazepine(valium,klonopin,ativan, librium,xanax) with xanax the one thing that can make it worse is the fact that if you abruptly stop using it you can have a siezure depening on your dose and how long you've been taking it. But in the end ativan and xanax basically rank about the same in my opinion, but you should really contact your prescribing doctor to get their opinion.